Whether you're an individual or a large corporation, let's be honest here...we ALL want to get ahead in the social media game. Social media has proved to be a HUGE factor in the overall of business marketing and growth, especially for new start ups!

So how exactly do you climb your way to the top? To win the game, you have to first learn how to play strategically.

Social media is a tool that is constantly changing. From the recent implementation of lives streaming to changes in the overall Instagram algorithm, nothing stays the same for long.

So what's a consistent way to connect with your audience, grow your stats and climb your way to the top? A highly underutilized thing we like to call hashtags.

An example would be searching #ILoveToTravel on Instagram where you'll find a collection of people's wanderlust photos traveling the world. You can view hundreds of thousands of photos that all relate to the respective hashtag "topic".

Now we've reached the part in this post where you're thinking how does that actually HELP my company grow? To that we have a simple answer.

Hashtags help business owners directly connect with their target audience.

Think about it as if you were a suitcase company who makes ecofriendly products for frequent travelers. Promoting your content and utilizing #ILoveToTravel adds your photo to this collection and connects you with the other hundreds of thousands of people checking out this hashtag.

Just like that, in one simple move you've connected with more people who my actually utilize what you're selling. No money involved and a huge ROI...that's a win in our book!

So now that you have a general understanding of hashtags it's time to put them to action! Here are our recommendations for newbies looking to add these powerful categorizers to their social media marketing strategy:

Find targeted hashtags that will connect you with the people your ideal consumer.

Differentiate your hashtags to make sure you cover all aspects of your ideal customer, i.e. locations the visit/live, occupations they hold, interests they have and general words they would use.

What's the hashtag strategy for your company? Don't have one yet? Contact the Pink Ladies to chat about our social media management options that include a hashtag strategy designed SPECIFICALLY for your business.